Stranded - Exploration Drive
20 Jul 2024Kasumi Goto
"What was I going to do with it? I wasn't sure... might still not be, but in that moment, it was useful to have. Meant I could look around relatively safely, without needing a vehicle. And it was stuck in the hangar for most of my time on the planet, anyway. So not risking acid burns, freezing or suffocating to death in a foreign environment had its benefits. Not dying being one of them."
"EDI, I ..."
I scoffed, rolling my eyes - and my head - while my hands were placed on the hips. Then, my right arm stretched out to point.
"I am not going in there."
The thing that the arm was pointed at... a vent.
"The damaged power conduit's access point is located within. Once it is replaced, thrusters will be operational again.", the AI repeated, seeming to insist. I, however, wasn't taking it.
"I won't fit! All I am going to do in there is get stuck."
It felt like I was about to get her to sigh. There certainly was an uncharacteristically distinct pause before the reply, to my retort. Which had a point. My hips were too wide, and my backside too large, to go into one of those narrow maintenance tunnels without serious complications. Complications that were very much unnecessary while stranded on an ammonia world with a wrecked ship. Nevermind that crawling through a narrow space, with a chest as big as mine, would not exactly be the most dignifying thing in the world, either.
"Very well. Analyzing alternatives." Which took a second at most. "If you isolate this conduit from the nearby junction and reroute through section 3-O, then to conduits 5-3 and 7-0, it will allow you to avoid replacing this particular one. However, the conduit leading toward the thruster assembly, in section 8-A, will need to be replaced instead - though it is more accessible, thanks to being located in a corridor, behind a maintenance panel."
I let out a sigh as much as breathing out in relief. "Okay. That, is... better." I picked up a tool, then just as quickly dropped it on the ground again, letting it hit with a loud metallic 'clang'. "Going to do that later. Not bothered, anymore, now."
Mostly, I just needed to remove my mind from the 'work', which I'd spent pretty much spent most of my time the last two days on, and the starting hours of this one. At least... going by my biological clock, it was the first few hours of the day, but thanks to the way the day-night cycle on this world operated, and a bit of an inconsistent sleep pattern, I was looking at another few hours of daylight, before the sun went down. After that, with no moon to provide any light, and hardly any from the distant neutron star reaching to here, either... it wasn't really a very good idea, to stay out past sunset. Especially when I didn't know what kind of creatures roamed around at night on this world, and that in particular when, relative to the planet's orbit, it was currently in the summer months for it. Although it was more like summer days, given the fact that the orbital period around this dwarf star was barely a sixth of a standard Earth year, and seasons would be accordingly short.
That had to present some fairly unique evolutionary challenges of its own, especially in such a cold environment. I would definitely spend some more time gathering biological samples for analysis, if the opportunity presented itself... and I'd definitely be having the sampler tool with me on future excursions out into the wilderness. With limited time left for this "day" in terms of sunlight availability, I'd also have to set out soon if I wanted to go out there, for more than just half an hour, and be back before nightfall. It was still a few hours out, but given the lack of a vehicle, as it still was right now, that didn't leave me many options. Maybe that cave on the other end of the lake, I could reach. Would be good to have a look at, if only... to be sure that the ship could actually fit inside, instead of sitting here, exposed to the elements. Though it was mostly storms and rainfall that worried me, over any sort of rust or corrosion settling in. Although, ammonia eating away at the metal could count as corrosion... it didn't change the fact. Rust was certainly not a huge concern with a seeming absence of oxygen within the amosphere. Or, if there was any, in such negligible quantities that it was not listed o n planetary info.
If I'd had access to topographical data from probe scans, I could have used it to check whether the dimensions of the cave entrance, at the very least, were suitable... but I didn't. Most of the processing power seemed dedicated to keeping the local copy of my AI program running, which was not too surprising, but did lock me out of certain features. Like looking at the detailed surface, atmospheric and biological data provided by the surface scanner, which could have given me some idea of what sort of life and other conditions to expect around here. Instead, I was limited to finding out the old-fashioned way. Mostly. At least I had the bio scanner with me to figure out whether a fruit would be poisonous to me or not.
A predatory life form, however... if it was one, I'd have to get close enough that it would probably respond to my presence, and by that point getting told by the scanner it was one wouldn't be of much use. A scenario I preferably wanted to avoid, especially with my relative lack of mobility making it harder to evade, and even when considering my attempts to learn how to not just be a big target, with over exaggerated body proportions. I found my feet had carried me over to the armory during my thinking, which was just as well. I announced my plan, then.
"EDI? I am going outside. Will take a look at that cave, nearby."
"Understood.", she replied. "Though I do not have to warn you about the possible dangers of staying out past nightfall, while we lack any detailed information on local fauna. Particularly animals active during the night."
I nodded. "Yes. I am... aware. Will try to not be out past the sun going down. But ..." I glanced down, with my hands lifted, eyes mostly trying to be directed at the hips I could see sprawling off to the side, not the big mass of fun blocking the view to my feet. "This might slow me down."
"I am certain you can manage the journey back and forth within time, even on foot. But repairing the thrusters would allow you to move the ship there, and not require walking the distance."
I sighed. "I am tired, of work, right now. Need to do something else. So... going out there."
"Very well. I suggest inspecting the cave entrance to determine if it can serve as a suitable spot within which to shelter the ship. It may also be wise to bring a weapon for self-defense."
"Which... I was, already planning. Thanks."
I opened up the armory and stepped inside, beginning the not-quite-pleasant, but also in a weird way fun, process of shoving my form into the upsized Artemis suit. Because there was certainly not a lot of grace or subtlety to that process, especially where the chest area was concerned. Bio scanner was still out in the airlock, so, I'd grab it once I was there. Couldn't seem to find my plasma pistol, though, muttering to myself about it.
"Where did I put ..."
Rummaging through a few lockers and chests for a misplaced, non-standard - at least, non-standard compared to the Pioneer weaponry, because mine was a military weapon - plasma pistol, but couldn't find it. And with a big breast like mine in the way, finding stuff where I had to bend down or go to my knees for it - the latter preferred, less risk of losing balance - wasn't the most enjoyable task. Eventually, I gave up on the armory, grabbed some ammo, and instead went over to look in my personal cabin. Sure enough, it was in there... why I was keeping it in that spot instead of where every other of my weapons waited, I couldn't say. Maybe it was just a reflex, keeping a self-defense weapon nearby at most times, or where I spent most of my time in a ship. Which was either the cockpit or in the personal cabin of it.
I snatched up the weapon from its location on the desk and put it on the holder placed on my right thigh - which was probably not the most convenient spot for it, after their impromptu upsizing a few months ago... but that was where I'd always had it, and it had been simpler to adjust my muscle memory to not collide with the extra material by grabbing further outward, than to reach for a completely different spot. And having it on the thigh was my preferred location for the pistol anyway.
That was everything I saw myself needing - that I could get here, anyway. Had the helmet from the armory, and the bio sampler would still be waiting patiently in the airlock. So I got myself over there, noting some of the clearer corridors - some of my handiwork of the last two or so days. Moving around the ship was a lot easier without all kinds of debris in the way. Not that this would save me sending it into extended maintenance once I was out of this mess, but it did simplify matters - especially with the amount of space which my body required to move around properly.
"Any other, last-minute advice, EDI?", I inquired, after kicking off the pressure equalization sequence.
"None too significant, though you may wish to be aware that there is a chance for rainfall.", the AI answered. "Some occurred earlier in the day, already, while you were asleep."
"Oh. Is there... any damage, to the ship?"
"There may be light corrosion to the ship's paint, what little of it remains. However, the external sensors have not detected any damage to the hull itself, or not enough to be a concern. There appears to be more on the lower hull, ignoring the damage sustained during landing. It may not become a problem until in a few days, so I would suggest focusing on repairing the thrusters."
"I will. But, after I return. Just... need to do something else, for a while."
The light on the outer airlock door turned from red to green. I could open it now... so I did. And allowed the cold air to reach my face, setting off the process which allowed me to safely survive the ammonia environment. It seemed to happen much quicker, this time, the cold feel disappearing within a minute, if that. I remembered to grab and attach the bio scanner to my belt before going out, also still that there was a gap beneath the ladder, so I didn't end up smacking on my backside on this outing.
Definitely was a bit more cloudy today. And those clouds, they were already getting colored by the sunset coming up, but the slower rotation of the planet worked in my favor in that regard. As had already been established... so I got myself going. Luckily, any 'wetness' from prior rain had already dried back up, so I needn't be too worried about stepping around in grass. Seemed like there was a bit of rainfall further off in the distance, at the moment, but moving away. Really didn't seem to look any different to rainfall on an Earth-like world, only this was ammonia coming back down to the surface.
I really had to look funny walking around with such a disproportionate figure. And it was just obvious how it was... too big, to anyone that would see me walk. Even to myself, maybe, because as much as I tried, the best I could seem to manage beyond the average or a leisurely walking pace was jogging for a short moment. Or maybe it just needed a lot more time to get to that point, because there was too much mass on the thighs fighting itself during almost any leg movement. Yet, I simply loved it despite, and because of that. Although, probably still not the best thing to have while stuck on an alien world.
Not following any particular path to the cave, I ended up walking along the lake shore, through some lower grass - seemed preferable to wading through that brownish-black growth, which only resembled what humans called 'grass' at the visual level. Its biological makeup was, without a doubt, significantly different, and I wondered what kind of money the people at Vista Genomics would be tempted to offer for anything I recovered from this world. Probably a lot, but whether I wanted to share that data with them, that was another matter. Couldn't trust humans to handle it very responsibly - not when things like the Sirius terraforming program for ammonia worlds existed, created either out of blind fear or a kneejerk reaction to the existence of Thargoids, that could potentially have an interest in the worlds within the Bubble habitable to them.
A kind of... 'squeak' pulled me out of my thoughts, and I found a funny-looking creature at my feet - or at least somewhere near there, since I couldn't actually see said feet - eyeing me in curious manner, its head tilted slightly. As if it didn't really see me as a threat. Had it not given off a noise, I wouldn't even have noticed it in the grass, though.
"Well, hello, little thing.", I remarked to it, hands placed on hips.
The creature squeaked back happily, and then went on to munch some of the grass stuff. Smart enough to know I was answering, even if it didn't understand. Observing it a little in turn, I couldn't help but liken it to a rabbit, even if it wasn't really, and fairly distinct, visually, from one. A thin layer of fur did cover the animal, but the similarities were superficial, at best. Though it did seem to like eating the grass-equivalent of this planet, too.
"EDI, do you think, I would harm it, with a scan?", I inquired, as a precaution. Because, as alien creatures went, this one was pretty cute. And I didn't really want to do anything that caused pain to it.
"The biological scanner generally acts in a non-intrusive manner, retrieving loose material on the surface, or skin, of an organism.", the AI informed me.
"Oh. Well." I looked at my, not quite, rabbit-esque friend and called. "Hey. Come on over, you little fluff ball."
Movement of an ear in my direction. Not much else, though, just continued hopping around.
"Hm. Something, different, maybe ..."
Some 'grass', maybe. I grabbed some that was already loose, from something heavier stepping on it... but not me. Footprint looked different - I'd examine that in a moment, but for now, I tried to lure the friendly creature back over to me. Which was a little more successful this time - it quite happily accepted the food I offered, holding it at the intact end - just to avoid any corrosive substance getting on the suit. And I quickly ran the bio scanner over it, also getting drawn into providing some pets. For a wild animal, this one seemed oddly used to the presence of other species around it...
"EDI. Results?", I promptly asked, after concluding the pets.
"Analyzing. This creature appears to be a herbivore, judging by its genetic makeup. Additionally, it has a layer of fur to protect it from colder temperatures, although currently less developed, as the world is experiencing a more temperate climate."
"I have seen that. Even let me pet it, a little. Hard to see it in the brown or black grass, though."
"That is likely just a simple evolutionary trait, to conceal it from predators which rely on eye sight. However, this particular organism appears to largely lack the protective exoskeleton of other species, so it may instead burrow underground for protection, during radiation surges from the neutron star. As such, the hairs on its exterior are very sensitive, to allow it a better chance of finding shelter in time."
"Has sharp teeth, too. Maybe, to bite through the protection, of the grass." That seemed like the best explanation, anyway. I returned to the footprint. "Something, has left a mark, here. In the grass. Another animal? Looks like... it has, three toes. Paw, about as big as my hand."
"Most likely, it is another animal life form, yes.", EDI answered. "I would exercise caution. It may well be a carnivorous organism."
I followed the tracks with my eyes as well as I could. "... and heading right toward the cave. Great."
Wherever that thing was at, I couldn't see anything around the lake. Yet, anyway. Continuing to move toward the cave, there was quite a lot more activity in the grass around me, but not from the rabbit-like creatures. Probably something smaller, but I could definitely hear shuffling around that wasn't my own, in the tufts. A few 'buzzers' - insects, or something alike - also tried their best to get on my nerve, and there was the occasional small-ish winged creature diving into the lake, sometimes emerging with a small fish-thingy, or just landing on its shore to sip at the water... ammonia. Any attempt to get closer to those was quickly met with them flapping away... possibly because they were very attentive to their surroundings, or I just wasn't very good at sneaking up. Probably the latter...
After about an hour and a half, I was at the cave's entrance. And... I stopped there, because there were some rather unpleasant, angry noises coming from within. Maybe this was the lair of that thing which left the big footprints. Or, worse, a pack of them.
'Yeah... don't think I am going in there.', I thought to myself, and just put on the helmet to get a HUD display for sensor readings, without triggering life support functionality or sealing it up completely.
Measurements looked like they were about right, for the Phantom, and it even got a bit wider, further in. But I'd probably keep it right within the entrance, no further in, to avoid disturbing the inhabitants that were, quite obviously, in this cave. It sloped downward into darkness, which made it even less tempting.
"What do you think, EDI? Good to put it in here?", I asked, more wanting an opinion than anything else.
"If the measurements are accurate, yes.", she responded. "Though it may be good to remain wary of the sounds which your suit's sensors are picking up."
"Oh, I am aware. And definitely not going in there to explore."
Unfortunately, mother nature decided to stop being on my side, and made it start to rain. I sighed.
"Well, great ..."
Not much I could do but wait. Knowing of the corrosive nature of ammonia - especially when it existed in sort of a 'pure' state as here, in liquid form at that - I didn't feel like walking out there to ruin my suit. And, maybe, clothes underneath it. Once it was on the ground, I hoped it would have spread around enough to not cause any significant damage to the boots while I walked back to the ship.
The twenty minutes during which it rained, and the ten which I still waited to give the ground a bit of time to dry up, definitely felt a bit longer, with me kind of expecting something to come out of that cave and bother me. I could have sworn I'd heard something flying around in there, too, and not necessarily small. Probably, even, bigger, on the scale of things... so I was very eager to get out, and start going back toward the ship. I was at least lucky enough that stepping on the wet soil and grass didn't appear to cause any immediate issues, though I'd probably need to stuff the boots into the fixer afterward. Or replace them, I'd see about that when I got back.
A lot of loud splashing caught my attention, and I saw something in the lake wrestling with one of the big fish creatures. Whatever had challenged it won out, and dragged its prey back out to the shore... close to me.
"Oh, great... it's, an ammonia bear."
Sure as anything reminded me of a bear, ignoring the three-toed paws, and some kind of exoskeleton. The 'bear' growled at me and followed me with not one but two pairs of eyes, but kept its distance... as did I. That thing looked more interested in its kill than me, especially if I didn't contest it. And that weird fish didn't look appetizing anyway... nevermind that I had as much interest in gutting it as I did in shooting at a Thargoid again.
The world had been showing its pretty side to me, so far, but now I was also getting to see some of the more brutal aspects to it. Maybe nothing that wouldn't happen on Earth, but I was getting less and less tempted to prolong my stay in a much more primal environment beyond a week. However long I'd been here... at most, five standard Earth days, something telling me it'd been four. But I still had to get the matter of the FSD mess sorted before I could even think about going anywhere. At least, I needn't be concerned about fuel reserves. With primary modules powered down the reactor's consumption was as close to zero as it could get.
The rest of my walk back to the ship was mostly uneventful, though I had a very close eye on the fading sunlight, and the quiet setting in was... rather unsettling. Enough for me to get startled when an alert about 'internal suit damage' chimed in my right ear.
"What- the ..."
My first instinct was to check whether some of the liquid ammonia had managed to seep through the suit, but even a quick look at the boots told me that wasn't the case. They looked, mostly, fine. Then I noticed I was feeling kind of hot, and had probably been sweating. But instead of water, it would be ammonia, and that made me sigh.
"That's one ruined set of clothes ..."
Not the most important matter right now - getting back to the safety of my ship was the priority. Just as I was about to reach the back ladder to climb back in, I heard some sort of loud screech, from the sky, and looked up to see something... fairly big flying around, at least as long as I was tall, assuming I judged it correctly with the distance. Though, with it being almost completely dark already, I had trouble judging. Still told me enough.
"Okay... yep, good thing I don't stay out, at night.", I remarked out loud, albeit to myself, and put on my helmet, sealing it off while starting the environment adjustment routine, as I entered the airlock. Part of me contemplated remaining in this 'mode' for more time on the ship, and let the outside atmosphere in, but it just wasn't practical. Maybe I'd do it for a day, and bring in some supplies from outside for that, then return to 'normal' in the hours before sleeping.
For the rest of this day, I got myself busy repairing the power conduits and doing the necessary rerouting, as well as bypassing, which EDI needed me to do to get power to the thrusters again. Or, at least, enough to get off the ground and move the ship to a proper sheltered spot. Building even some kind of makeshift one, that really just wasn't in it, would've taken too much time. But I was beginning to notice some rather obvious signs of wear on the hull from the corrosion - nothing too serious, though, still limited enough that a repair limpet could patch it up without issue.
Once done with that, by which time my body was capable of staying in a human environment again, I pulled out of my suit and just stuffed the whole thing into the repair bay. If I could call it that. And added the clothes I'd worn to the recycler, to be replicated as they were. Then I also showered to get the residues off my body, because, as informed by EDI, ammonia sweat would make me carry an unfathomably bad stench around... basically everywhere. Bad by human standards, anyway, because I couldn't and wouldn't have noticed a thing.
"So, EDI... how are thrusters looking?", I decided to ask, as I dried myself off.
"I will be running tests through the night on both the replaced power conduits and the thrusters themselves.", she told me. "I also have some additional data on the way your body functions in its alternate mode, should you wish to see it, and have set the fabricator to weave corrosion-resistant fabrics together, as an external layser for the suit, and for an overall you may wear underneath it."
"Oh. That's... thoughtful. Maybe, also, make some clothes, like that?"
"If possible, I will. Though it may require some samples of local flora to create. The modifications to the suit will not provide protection from Thargoid caustic enzymes, however, as they are much more potent."
"... hopefully, they will not have to."
I squeezed myself out of the shower cubicle, which I never really considered upsizing, and... just decided to head right to bed. For some reason, I was always really tired after my body switched back over to 'human standards'. And really hungry, but the overwhelming sleepiness cancelled that out. One of those things EDI could provide me an answer to, maybe... tomorrow. Tomorrow by my standards of time, anyway... it would still be pitch black by the time I'd wake up.
I barely stopped myself from collapsing, just enough to not knock over the pillow tower under my waist, on the bed, once I dragged myself over to there. My feet felt a little sore too, maybe just not used to carrying all that weight put on them, for so long, while actively walking and standing for several hours. Or I just needed some better gel layers in the soles of boots and shoes, or as 'extras' to insert into them. Because I couldn't remember that being an issue while working within the ship, where I got quite frequent 'opportunities' to sit and distribute that weight across my soft backside instead... which did make for quite a good cushion of its own. Were it not for the action of gravity spreading it and the thighs outward even further, I possibly wouldn't even notice being sat down much.
My sleep was rudely interrupted by loud knocking noises on the hull, after clearly not enough hours, because I was still feeling rather tired, but it was impossible to ignore the banging. And I was... somewhat concerned, by it. Seemed to come from around the cockpit... so, after fumbling around for the small, bedside lamp, I cast aside the cover and, slowly, kind of rolled my way out of it. Not bothered to put on proper clothes or anything protective, I just grabbed my pistol and carefully wandered out toward the control space of the ship, in just my underwear.
"EDI, what is... making this noise, outside?" I definitely still sounded sleepy, but alert at the same time.
"Unknown.", the AI told me. "I cannot locate anything on the external cameras, and the sensor array is experiencing interference, possibly from solar activity."
I let out a deep breath, carrying a sigh within it. "Great."
The banging stopped. Definitely wasn't raining, or a storm, because it was eerily quiet outside. No wind, no sound of any rain hitting the ground, or thunder. Just deafening silence. And it was just as pitch black in the cockpit, as outside.
"EDI... lights, outside. Please."
The lights came on... both the ones illuminating the canopy, and the floodlights pointed toward the surface. What they revealed was some kind of thing that looked like a gigantic bat that filled up almost the entire upper section of the canopy, and it did not appreciate suddenly getting covered in light, screeching loudly and wildly, exposing some nasty looking fangs in its mouth. Nor did I appreciate this sudden introduction, even with that glass and a few meters between us.
"Ahh! Christ!"
I flinched backward, almost jumping, both literally and out of my skin, as the creature quickly took off and disappeared into the darkness. Which was followed by quite a bit more wing flapping elsewhere, all around the ship. I needed a moment to recover from the shock and let my breath steady out. Would take a moment longer for my heart to calm back down...
"Okay, that... that, it's not okay. What the hell was that?"
"Unclear. Perhaps - "
I interrupted EDI. "Ju- ... just, don't tell me. Don't want to know." Muttering, I added to that statement. "This is going to give me nightmares ..."
A swarm of giant bats, or something that looked like them, using my ship as a perch or something, or worse, trying to claw into it... that was the last thing I wanted to know was out there, during the night cycles of this planet. I cautiously moved to the pilot's seat and just dropped myself into it, not really caring that I wasn't properly dressed. Was supposed to be sleeping, anyway. And it was still some twenty hours before sunrise... yet I could neither go outside with those things around, while they looked like something that would quite gladly snack on something of my size - various 'extras' not counting - nor was I really in a state to do any further repair work, let alone fly the ship.
It took about half an hour for me to fully wind down from the scare, then another thirty to be able to fall asleep again. This time, with the windows closed. And I'd definitely be moving the ship over into that cave, once I had some proper energy to work with again... hopefully, that wasn't where those weird bat things were inside of, during daytime. I'd even take some of the big bear-like creatures over those flying nightmares... though they weren't quite as bad as spiders.
Thankfully, the remainder of my sleep stayed clear of either, even if the undesired waking in the middle of my first attempt to rest would leave me a bit sleepy for that next day. It certainly beat the other alternatives my mind came up with, like what would have occurred if those things had gotten into the ship. Somehow, I doubted it would have been a particularly enjoyable one, for either side.